CPR training memorializes Tiffany Hall

Health Service Administration majors at Springfield College and Tiffany Hall Memorial CPR Training Day committee members Kelly LaKrue and Joe Capossela.

Reminder Publications submitted photo

SPRINGFIELD – Students from Springfield College are slated to participate in the Tiffany Hall Memorial CPR Training Day sponsored in part by the American Red Cross. The training day will take place on Nov. 16 at the Dunbar Y Family and Community Center, 33 Oak St., with sessions at 10 a.m. and noon.
The students will shadow certified Red Cross CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) instructors as they teach hands-only CPR to members of the Greater Springfield community.
“Mentoring instructors is a vital part of the Red Cross training program and one of the reasons we are the premier provider in First Aid and CPR/AED training,” Janet Read, Red Cross Service Delivery manager, said. “Having students from Springfield College shadow instructors at the Tiffany Hall event ... will help them understand how an instructor works a room of participants, how to give positive feedback and how to empower participants to learn life-saving skills.”
In addition to the students that will be shadowing Red Cross instructors, two students, Kelly LaKrue and Joe Capossela have been instrumental in planning the event as members of the committee. Both LaKrue and Capossela are Health Service Administration majors at Springfield College and feel that participating in the Tiffany Hall Memorial CPR Training Day is a meaningful use of their time.
“My experience so far with the committee has been excellent and it motivates me further to do well in school,” Capossela said. “I could not have asked for a better first internship because of the ties that this event has with the Springfield community and to Springfield College’s mission of educating a person in spirit, mind and body for leadership in service to others.”
This is the second annual event, which takes place in remembrance of Tiffany Hall, a young single mother of two, who choked to death in her home in April 2012. Her untimely death led her family to become advocates of CPR training in the Greater Springfield community. “CPR is a skill everyone should have because it does save lives,” LaKrue said.
One quarter of Americans report that they have been in a situation where someone may have needed CPR. Hands-only CPR is a potentially lifesaving technique involving no mouth-to-mouth contact. Research has shown that continuous hands-only CPR can be effective in caring for a person with no signs of life when a rescuer is unable, untrained or unwilling to perform full CPR.
Participants of all ages are welcome. A minimum donation of $10 per person to support the Tiffany Hall Memorial Scholarship Fund is appreciated.
Additionally, coinciding with the hands-only CPR training, there will be a separate class with limited seating for childcare workers who wish to become fully CPR certified.
To register or for more information about the Tiffany Hall Memorial CPR Training Day, visit www.springfieldy.org or call 788-6143.